Content area
Full Text
It is my contention here that there exists among the myriad forms of Christian expression the vocation of lay monasticism. The lay monastic is a layperson called by God to transform his or her life into one continuous prayer by using the tools normally associated with monasticism. These monastic tools are primarily Office, lectio, silence, and solitude. Wordless and imageless prayer, a simple resting in the presence of God, is also practiced.
Lay monasticism is not readily recognizable among the laity. The lay monastic dons no habit, wears no distinguishing ornament, lives not in a monastery. The vocation is largely invisible among the laity and parish clergy, thereby rendering it incapable of promotion or recruitment. The parish pastor may issue an appeal for Eucharistic Ministers, but he is unlikely to issue a similar appeal for lay monastics. Furthermore, the lay monastic is usually alone in the vocation, often unaware of even the presence of other lay monastics nearby. Therefore the vocation is usually unnoticed. Lay monasticism is essentially the embodiment of Jesus' admonition to "go to your room, close your door, and pray to your Father in private" (Mt 6:6).
Because the vocation is hidden, a person receiving the call to it is often perplexed. A person can ponder whether to enter the priesthood or religious life, which are known quantities, but how can he or she ponder something about which nothing is known? Consequently, the person stumbles through one door after another trying to follow the voice that calls. Books are read; spiritual directors are consulted. The person persists in the search, though, for he or she feels compelled to do so, a compulsion fueled by the urge to rest in God. As Raimundo Panikkar writes:
One does not become a monk in order to do something or even to acquire anything, but in order to be. The monk does not become a monk just because of a desire.... It is not because one wills it that one becomes a monk. The monk is compelled.1
This search often leads to a monastery. There the person discovers the rhythm of life that speaks to his or her soul: prayer, work, silence. This discovery is often accompanied by deep spiritual rumblings, a sense of being...